Seahawks Ex Ray Roberts Reveals O-Line Concerns: 'Who's The Leader?'

As the Seattle Seahawks continue their youth movement in the trenches, one NFL analyst sees a potential issue with their offensive line.

There has been a youth movement along the offensive line for the Seattle Seahawks, as they look to improve a unit that has struggled in recent years. Last year saw them draft their two franchise tackles in Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross, establishing the bookends of their line.

Lucas and Cross were phenomenal for the Seahawks as rookies, giving them a pair of dominant tackles that they can build around in the trenches - which is what they opted to do in the 2023 draft, adding guard Anthony Bradford and center Olu Oluwatimi. 

All of a sudden a unit that was struggling to get by in the not too distant memory has become one of the younger in the NFL, with the potential to be among the best if they all pan out. Despite that, though, former Seahawks offensive lineman Ray Roberts sees one problem with the line - a potential leadership void. 

"I think the downside looking at this offensive line is like who’s the leader?" Roberts said. "Who’s going to be the dude that’s going to step up when the times are tough ... when a game isn’t going quite like you want it to or just the offensive line isn’t performing the way it (needs to)?"

While there is plenty of reason to be excited about the potential of this Seahawks' team, especially with their revamped offensive line, Roberts does make a valid point of contention. 

Things won't always be perfect or happy, especially over the long grind of a 17-game season. In those moments of struggle or doubt, do the Seahawks have an offensive lineman who can take charge of the unit and settle everyone's nerves?

“Abraham Lucas I think is a dude that has energy and his style and his approach, there’s leadership in that," Roberts said. "But I don’t know if he’s a talker type of dude,” Roberts said. “And so I’m not real sure who does that with this offensive line."

It should be expected that there will be growing pains for the Seahawks offensive line this season, especially with the potential of two rookies seeing significant snaps. If the unit plays up to their full potential, though, the trenches will be locked down in Seattle for the foreseeable future.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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